Already thinking about your holiday sales strategy? You should be! Why? Online shopping is flattening the spending year which means holiday shopping no longer means that crazy week before. In fact, in a 2018 Valassis Research survey found that a whopping 49% of people said that Amazon Prime Day (in July!) encouraged them to get a jump-start on their holiday shopping.

Facebook also released its Holiday Guide*. Check out these tinsel-turning numbers:

What does it all mean? That putting off your holiday marketing strategy is a big no-no. In an ideal world, retailers should start thinking about the holiday season in January, but we know that can be impractical. So ensuring that your strategy is tied up with a bow by the summer will help all the pieces of your plan fall into place as the cold weather creeps in. While there is no “right date” to begin your holiday launch, aim for November 1st.

Here are a few other quick tips to help your strategy shine:

“Plan” all year long. If you notice other efforts that work throughout the year, take note and include them for the holidays.

Spend money to make money. Now is the time to put your marketing budget to use in Facebook and Instagram ads.

Think about your audiences. Tap into customers from the previous season through VIP parties, holiday cards or email lists.

Have a merry marketing time. Holidays are a time to let creativity shine! Use those fun custom graphics and GIFs, videos or templates.

Thinking about the holidays might make you sweat, but careful planning and execution (with a healthy dose of inspiration and imagination) will help make this the best sales season yet!

A common question that gets asked by retailers is “Where should I be showing up online?” and the answer is to be where your customers are. For many, the focus is on social media. And yes, showing up on the big social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat is crucial to your business, but one of the places you should be showing up outside of social (even if it’s the only place) is in your customer’s email inbox. With a majority of people checking their emails on a mobile device daily, it’s a good place for your business to be.

Your email marketing strategy is so important as a small business, and you should have a plan to be hitting your customer’s inboxes especially around the holidays. People who sign up for your email list want to hear from you.

There are many ways to integrate both your social media and email marketing strategies – one can be used to help boost the other. Here’s how:

Always include links to your social media accounts in the email footer.

This provides a quick way for your list to connect with you across your social media platforms. If you don’t send out emails often, let them know the best place to stay up-to-date is to follow you on social.

If you’re trying to build your social media following send a dedicated “Follow Us on Social” email to your list.

Nowadays it’s common that people who like your brand are going to want to follow you on social media, this is especially true for Millennials. It’ll also help boost your engagement, increase your expose and build a relationship with your customer base in the long run.

Make it easy for people who find you online to join your email list.

This could be a pop-up on your website, a link on your facebook page, and can even be done in store when people are checking out. Collect as much information from people interested in your business as possible to help maintain a solid email list.

Mention you have email exclusive offers and promotions.

Believe it or not, people want to see promotional emails in their inbox. This is also an easy way to track if a sale comes from an email because you know it’s only being talked about in one place. It’ll also entice your followers to join your list to get the latest deals.

Bonus tip! Upload your email list into Facebook to then use to create a custom audience to run ads to during the holidays.

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